Chaos Dwarfs
Chaos Dwarfs are a species that feature in Warhammer Fantasy.
Contents |
History
Thousands of years ago, a group of Dwarfs moved northwards from their ancestral home somewhere in the Southlands. They moved along the high ridge of the mountains known as the World's Edge Mountains, following the trail of mineral ores and precious gems, eventually reaching the region at the far north of the World's Edge Mountains which they called Zorn Uzkul or the Great Skull Land. This was a vast, cold, and inhospitable plateau where the air was thin and the rocks bare. From this point, some of the Dwarfs turned east and then south along the barren Mountains of Mourn.
Then came the Time of Chaos. The Dwarfs who dwelled in the west believed that those who had travelled east had been destroyed by the tides of Chaos that swelled in from the north, but this was not true. The forces of Chaos did not fatally mutate the hardy Dwarfs as it would have done for weaker species such as humans, but instead changed them in much smaller ways. The most common mutations amongst Chaos Dwarfs are prominent tusks, or hooves instead of feet. Chaos Dwarfs also lack the western Dwarf's resistance to magic because of their more direct exposure to Chaos.
Overview
The Chaos Dwarfs hate their brethren for abandoning them to the wave of Chaos. The Dwarfs , in turn, have completely disowned their evil kin, even going so far as to rewrite their family histories to make it seem as if they never existed. Chaos Dwarfs are unlike other Warhammer Dwarfs in many ways, being enthusiastic slavers with Orc and Goblin slaves, as well as humans, under hobgoblin overseers. Many of them are potent Sorcerers, using magic more like other races rather than the purely runic magic of other Dwarfs. They worship a god named Hashut, also known as the "Father of Darkness", rather than the Dwarf ancestor gods.
Chaos Dwarfs see little need for further campaigns into distant lands to gain more land or belongings; they have all the slaves they need in the Mountains of Mourn and the Dark Lands, along with more material wealth than they actually need; although being Dwarfs, they continue to search for more.
There are relatively few Chaos Dwarfs despite the fact unlike their former kin they are growing in number, the vast numbers of slaves who toil in the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund and in the Plain of Zharrduk outnumber them many times over. All the Chaos Dwarfs belong to one of the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers, they are his subjects and also his kinsmen, bonded by ties of blood-loyalty which all Chaos Dwarfs deem unbreakable. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs scour the Dark Lands searching for captives to bring back to Zharr-Naggrund to work in the mines and forges, or to sacrifice at the Temple of Hashut. The temple is guarded by Bull Centaurs.
the Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers rule over the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund as the lords and masters of the Chaos Dwarfs and high priests of Hashut. They specialize in the study of machines and magic combined to produce arcane engines of power and destruction. There are only a few, probably no more than a few hundred amongst the whole Chaos Dwarf race. There is no leader nor formal hierarchy; the strongest voices are the oldest and most powerful. Each Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer controls part of the city, with its own workshops and forges, slaves and warriors, as part of his personal dominion.
The more Chaos Dwarf Sorcerers use magic the more it affects them. Although slow the process once started is inexorable, in newer sources it is however stated that the process begins and continues through losing control of their power. From the feet up they slowly turn to stone. Over time, the entire body turns to stone and he becomes a statue to be placed along with the others lining the roadways around the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund.
The acquisition of slaves is very important to Chaos Dwarfs because they are totally dependent upon captives to keep their city and industries going. Bands of Chaos Dwarfs will travel many hundreds of miles to raid Orc or Goblin strongholds in the Mountains of Mourn, and when they conquer a tribe they take as many prisoners back to their city as they can. The more captives they take the more successful the expedition is judged to have been. All wars of conquest are fought with the aim of taking slaves; the Chaos Dwarfs are not interested in expanding their territories further, for the Mountains of Mourn and the Plain of Zharrduk contain all the wealth that they require. Sometimes whole armies of Chaos Dwarfs march against the Orc and Goblin tribes, subduing one tribe after another before returning to the Tower of Zharr-Naggrund laden with slaves.
The Chaos Dwarfs trade slaves with the Goblin tribes, choosing to use the Goblins as intermediaries rather than advance further into the Old World.
It was known as the Dark Lands and lies to the east of the Old World and to the west of the Mountains of Mourn and Cathay. It is a large plain and mostly barren, filled with ash and fire.
The Chaos Dwarfs' major city was Zharr-Naggrund. Zharr-Naggrund is situated in the middle of the Plain of Zharr, a massive crater in the Darklands full of underground workshops and mines. Much of their activity goes toward building and preserving this city. It is in the form of a massive ziggurat, with gates larger than there is any need for, which led to it being also called The Tower of Zharr-Naggrund. On the top of the city is the Temple of Hashut, where slaves are sacrificed to their god Hashut. The mighty city is the centre of Chaos Dwarf lands, but there are others. Far to the south is the Black Tower. The Tower of Gorgorth is situated in the Mountains of Ash. Both Daemon's Stump and the Black Fortress are situated close to the Mountains of Mourn, where Ogres trade slaves and plunder for metal and black-powder weapons.
Chaos Dwarfs are reported to be great engineers. They have many war machines, the Death Rocket, and Earthshaker, and one daemonic war machine, the Hellcannon. In the most recent edition they have created several extremely large warmachines including the Skullcracker, Magma Cannon, Steam Engine (part of a land train), Siege Bombard and Demolition Rockets. In the book Grudgebearer, all of these machines are made daemonic by the priests of Hashut. Chaos Dwarfs had many more War Machines in the 3rd Edition of Warhammer. These included the Bazooka, Mortar, Whirlwind, Tenderiser, Swivel Gun and the Juggernaut.
The Earthshaker is a devastating, mortar-like weapon that fires a large explosive shell that cause the ground to tremor upon impact. The Death Rocket is more common and consists of an erratic rocket that can bounce randomly in several directions before exploding.
Other war machines are from the Games Workshop game Man O' War which is set in the same universe. These are huge weapons set on the decks of warships called the Hellfire Battlebarge and Great Leveller Battlebarge. The other two ships, the Thunder Roller and Hull Destroyer, rely on their engine power to ram enemy vessels.
Chaos Dwarfs are also credited with designing and supplying the Juggernaughts of Khorne in earlier lore.
Members
- Astragoth Ironhand :
- Ghorth the Cruel :
- Zhatan the Black :
- Drazhoath the Ashen :
- Bazherak the Cruel :
- Rykarth the Unbreakable :
Notes
- Chaos Dwarfs were created by Games Workshop and featured in the setting of Warhammer Fantasy.
Appearances
- Warhammer Fantasy:
External Links
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